Continents with expansive landmasses and burgeoning populations require supportive, interactive communication between governments and third-party providers for those populations to attain lifestyles of note. And no more so than for the citizens of Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean, Central and South America — effective communication in these regions of the world is no longer a dream, but more and more a reality.

FEATURES

FEATURE - Innovations = Latin American Growth,

by Carmen Gonzalez-Sanfeliu
With the steady growth of Latin Americas largest economies, the regions telecommunications companies (telcos and celcos) are working diligently to meet increasing demand for more powerful communications networks for enterprises and government agencies. These same telcos also seek new solutions to help meet surging demand for mobile voice and Internet connectivity from the regions consumers and businesses.

FEATURE - New Mapping Perspectives in Peru, by François Riendeau and Claire Gosselin

by François Riendeau and Claire Gosselin
The ever-increasing capacities of Earth observation (EO) satellites and related technologies have opened new opportunities for countries with incomplete cartographic coverage and/or outdated maps. For a long time, costly aerial photographic surveys were the only way to gather the high-resolution basic information needed to make maps. Today, stereoscopic images from EO satellites covering the entire world are sophisticated enough to comply with many strict cartographic standards for a fraction of the price of aerial survey maps. However, the effective exploitation of this huge and diversified data source requires cartographers to master new tools and techniques.

FEATURE - From Military to Corporate, True C3,

by Marc LeGare and Edward Topasna
The first decade of the 21st Century has offered satellite telecommunications providers plenty of lessons, challenges, and opportunities from the military customer. As the CEO of Proactive Communications, Inc. (PCI), I will address some of the broader implications for satellite telecommunications providers, lessons that we have learned over the past four years of increasing business. True Command, Control, and Communications (C3), from the military world to corporate environs, is a process whose time has come.

by Carlos Placido
Latin America and the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) are regions with (some) similar macro economic and telecom conditions. Economic developments driven by commodity exports have been reflected in telecom infrastructure upgrades and have lead to increased demand for satellite services to support broadcast, broadband, GSM backhaul, VSATs, and military applications.

INSIGHT: The Cameroon Experience,

by Jacob Gullish
The government of Cameroon has initiated a strategic evaluation of the country’s VSAT segment. This study highlights an intriguing opportunity to understand the impact of the rapid introduction of fiber to the African continent via new subsea cables as well as the construction of national information communications technology (ICT) backbones.

INSIGHT - What Makes A Top Teleport Operator?,

by Robert Bell
When thinking about the satellite communications industry, most people will immediately look upwards where hundreds of satellites are orbiting the Earth transmitting the voice, video, and data communications we all rely heavily upon  however, the real value lies much closer to home. The $13 billion teleport sector produces more than 15 percent of the world satellite communications revenue. Teleport operators are no longer simply providers of basic uplinking and downlinking services.

INSIGHT - Super HD: Technology Jump?,

by Chris Forrester
Super HDTV, NHKs 8K format next generation broadcast technology, was displayed in all of its visual and audio glory at IBC. In the view of most of the observers, Super HDTV represents the next step for higher definition (HD). NHKs demonstration theatre will almost certainly be present at NAB in April of 2009, so be certain to take a peek at the technology  I think youll be impressed.

by J. Steven Rich
Earlier this year, Arab ministers of communication meeting in Cairo adopted a set of guidelines entitled Arab Satellite Broadcasting Charter: Principles for Regulating Satellite Transmission in the Arab World. Only Qatar (home of the controversial Arab news channel Al-Jazeera) and Lebanon initially withheld support for the document, and conflicting reports suggest that Lebanon may have reversed its position and later signed the document. The contents of this charter already have generated a great deal of controversy, particularly among human rights organizations and free speech advocates.

FOCUS: The Big Picture. REALLY BIG., by John Stone, Partner, Near Earth LLC

by John Stone
Something important happened quite recently! The price of reaching the final frontier went down by ~75 percent. If it appears as though Im being obscure with that statement, its because Im talking about a comparatively remote effect rather than its much more heralded proximate cause: The successful flight of Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) Falcon 1 launch vehicle.

FOCUS: SatCom In The SNG Market, by Bhumika Bakshi, C-COM

by Bhumika Bakshi
Developments in the Satellite News Gathering (SNG) industry over the last 20 years have been dramatic. They have changed the way we consume news and view world events. No longer is reporting the news enough  consumers want to become part of the news. This expectation translates into having Live News available for every major story. Innovations in satellite and Internet technologies have enabled much of this advancement.

by Tom De Baere
Nigeria-based CobraNet is a leading provider of broadband Internet services. Since 2003, the Company has provided the Nigerian Market with a highly reliable Internet service and plans further expansions in this region as well as into West Africa in the near future.

CASE STUDY - Who Are You Going To Call?,

by Tim ONeill
When a million-dollar-a-day drilling rig cannot communicate efficiently, many serious problems can, and do, occur. The rig operator usually does not have time to fly in an expert to fix the communication issues  so, who will you call?